Alcohol home delivery services: A source of alcohol for underage drinkers

Objective: This study describes the use of alcohol home delivery services b y underage drinkers, and characteristics of grocery and liquor stores that deliver alcohol. The availability of alcohol home delivery services across the United States is also described. Method: Individuals surveyed were from 15 small- and medium-sized midwestern communities. Of all enrolled 12th gr aders, 83.5% (N = 4,487) responded, and of a randomly selected cohort of 18 - to 20-year-olds, 93.9% (N = 1,721) responded. All grocery stores that sol d alcohol and liquor stores in the corresponding communities were invited t o participate in the study and 124 (92.5%) of those businesses completed su rveys regarding outlet characteristics and practices. Data for the surveys were based on a nested cross-sectional design with individual respondents n ested within the 15 communities. Results. Purchases of delivered alcohol we re made by 10% of 12th graders and 7.3% of 18- to 20-year-olds within the p ast year; 20.2% of outlets delivered alcohol. Using bivariate analyses, pur chasing delivered alcohol was associated with male gender, high-risk drinki ng (drinking five or more drinks on an occasion), more recent and more freq uent drinking. Providing delivery services was more common among outlets se lling keg beer and/or single servings. Multivariate analyses revealed posit ive associations between purchasing delivered alcohol and male gender for t he 12th graders, and high risk and more recent drinking for both the 12th g raders and 18- to 20-year-olds. For outlets, selling keg beer was positivel y associated with providing delivery services. A separate survey indicated that home delivery services appear to be available in many areas of the cou ntry. Conclusions: Home delivery is a previously unidentified source of alc ohol for underage drinkers that could be curtailed with effective alcohol p olicies.